Can’t! Write! Post!

Okay, so I’ve slacked off for a while this evening. The laptop had to charge, dinner made and consumed, and enjoyment gleaned from the internets.

I’ve encountered a rather unusual form of writer’s block. It’s totally bizarre. The trouble isn’t that I can’t write. I can. The issue is that I find myself having a hard time writing blog posts but an easy time writing fiction. How completely strange is that? The only way I’m getting this post out at all is by being honest about the process and the troubles I’m having. I literally can’t come up with anything else to write. How very odd.

I think part of it stems from working through the Gotham Writer’s Workshop: Writing Fiction book. My fiction writing is crap. My complete lack of knowledge of the craft of writing fiction is limiting me. I’ve tried reading through the book and doing the exercises before and hit something of a rut. The book has languished on my bedside table ever since, its yellow cover taunting me. Unfinished, it whispered in my dreams… Unfinished… To be quite honest, I had a falling out with writing. We didn’t really get along for a while. Yes, I put out blog posts regularly and that kept me writing daily. It just wasn’t in me. I think doing Camp NaNoWriMo wore me out. I’m starting to refresh, to get interested in the craft again, delving into learning the basics and practicing more.

As far as not being able to blog, well… Perhaps I’ve just run out of things to write about. I wrote for a while earlier and, upon finishing, deemed it all worthless to post. Massive quantities of suck. I worked on my fiction and was a little relieved when my computer insisted I plug it in. It’s very insistent. If I don’t agree it tends to give up on me and go to its happy place.

So… I suppose I’ve cheated on my blog with the world of fiction. It’s not you, blog, it’s me. I’ve created fictional characters, written a few little short stories, and even (horror!) plotted. I still love you, blog. Nothing’s changed between us. I’m just writing fiction too. Maybe I’ll break this weird barrier I’ve put up and post a little fiction every once in a while. Not tonight. It’s too soon, I agree. Sometime, though.

Let’s not let this get too awkward. Nothing’s changed. I just feel like writing other things. I was going to say writing other people but that just sounds weird and… dirty… A lot of time has passed since I even attempted to write any fiction and it feels awkward and uncomfortable. Off balance. Out of practice. Like trying to relearn a skill you learned in junior high but never used again until now. You didn’t fully learn it then and you never got good at it. Now you’re trying to use what little you remember and it’s all awkward and strange and a little familiar. Keep at it and eventually you’ll get a lot better. That’s what I’m doing.

Camp NaNoWriMo starts on Monday. I’m half thinking about writing up a few character profiles this weekend and maybe a rough plot outline, cut my word count a little to give me some breathing room, and write a little fiction in July. 50k felt a little forced last time. It’s okay for November but hard to do in other months. Plus I’d like to get my fiction chops built up a bit more before I try the November challenge again. Hmm… I’ve got some ideas about what I want to do for July, maybe not a novel. Maybe a script or something, something different and just a little bit fun.

So I might be writing posts that are the same and I might be writing posts that are different. I still love you, blog. You’re the best.